Amphibians in the UK have been given a leg-up with the installation of ‘frog ladders’, designed to help them escape certain death from roadside drains.

A small group of British conservationists – memorably named the Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team, or WART – are behind the scheme. Since 2017, they have been rescuing frogs and toads from drains using nets and buckets.

Amphibians can become trapped in the drains when travelling between breeding pools, and WART says the hazard is taking its toll on the local frog population.  It is one of the factors, along with habitat loss, that is blamed for common toad numbers declining by 68% in the UK during the past 30 years, according to a 2016 report by the conservation group Froglife.

It’s not an issue isolated to the UK either. A 2012 study in the Netherlands estimated that more than half a million small vertebrates like frogs, toads and newts end up trapped in gully pots and drains each year.

“The amphibians are coming to breed and then hitting the road, getting across the roads, hitting the curb, along the curb and into the drains. And then that’s it – end of story for them, game over,” says WART member Tim Jenkins.

“By installing the amphibian ladders, it enables them to get back out of the drains and back to their breeding pools and doing what they should do and making more amphibians.”

With the permission and help of highway engineers from the local council, WART have so far installed 20 of the rust-resistant aluminium ladders down drains near known breeding pools. The ladders have a mesh-covered side, giving the amphibians a foothold to climb out.

WART says it’s seen a drop in the number of amphibian prisoners since the ladders were installed, but with each ladder costing more than $25 it’s hoped other cities will also take up the charge.